Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) has urged the government to change its international standard school funding policy, which it says widens the gap between rich and poor students.

Only children from affluent families can afford international-standard schools (SBI) and international-standard pilot project schools (RSBI), and ironically these schools receive more funding from the government, instead of poor schools that definitely need more attention, FITRA investigation and advocacy coordinator Uchok Sky Khadafi says in a press statement received by The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

"This very unjust and indiscriminate policy will prompt regional administrations to compete in opening SBI and RSBI so they can earn block grants from the central government," Uchok says.

"And this will cause those regional administrations to spend more on those international standard schools and at the same time abandon schools in outlying areas that actually need more funds from the regional budgets."

Uchok added that the government had allocated Rp 242 billion (US$27.35 million) to SBI and RSBI schools next year, and only Rp 108 billion for regular schools, even though the latter constitute the majority.